2016 Rock Recap.
More than half a million dollars were raised at ALTSO’s Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest and Rocktoberfest-Chicago this past October. The 2016 signature events hosted some of the best performances we’ve seen to date.
The 13th Annual Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest found its new home with a packed house of over 1,400 guests at the iconic Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. Newcomers to the main stage included “The Autopilots” (made up from professionals from HSBC, Scopus Asset Management and Wedbush) and “The Warriors From Mars” (made up of professionals from BlackRock, Greenlight Capital and toddstreet) who brought with them some die hard fans and a ton of new faces to ALTSO’s Rocktoberfest scene. “New York Rock Exchange” (made up of professionals from MJE Advisors, Tigress Financial Partners and lead sponsor Intercontinental Exchange) came strong with “I Wanna Rock N Roll All Night” from Kiss’ 1979 album, Dressed to Kill.
Veteran band “JAM Partners” (made up of professionals from Citi, CNBC Fast Money, Glenwood Management Fitness, Jacobs Asset Management, Tigress Financial Partners, Tourmalet Advisors and Triogem Asset Management) took the stage with “Where Is My Mind” from The Pixies 1988 debut album Surfer Rosa, bringing the entire venue to its feet.
One of the many highlights at ALTSO's Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest was a performance by “The Cause” (made up of professionals from Credit Suisse, Cowen Prime Services, Pangaea Business Solutions and lead sponsor Intercontinental Exchange) with an all-time favorite from The Clash - “Should I Stay or Should I Go" - spreading good vibes throughout the hundreds of fans that danced just below.
Made up of 15 professionals from lead sponsor Société Générale Americas, Paris-based "Six Floors Under" gave a flawless rendition of “Another Brick In The Wall” from Pink Floyd’s 1979 double album, The Wall and an award winning acoustic performance of the 1979 Eagles hit, "Hotel California". Special thanks to all Six Floors Under members for making the long journey with their family, friends and fans to raise support for children with limb disabilities and rock for good at ALTSO's 13th Annual Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest.
For those wanting a chiller vibe, the acoustic room at ALTSO's 13th Annual Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest provided performances that were as cool as ice. Acts included, Chris Caruso, The Singing CPA, Mo' Beta Blues Band, The RentD Band, Acoustic Karma, The Rolling Globes, Six Floors Under and The Mojo Johnnies. Special shoutout to Koma Gandy-Fischbein for bringing together such a talented group of acoustic performers to entertain the networking crowd.
Meanwhile three weeks earlier in Chicago, ALTSO's Fifth Annual Rocktoberfest-Chicago led by Chicago committee co-chairs, Ray McKenzie (Apple Inc.) and Chuck Mackie (Maven Wave Partners) brought in a record breaking attendance of over 45O Chicagoans. Performances included newcomers “Age Against The Machine” (including professionals from The Gelber Group) and "The Operators" (of ADM Investor Services, Inc.). Veterans “Rock Island Line” (of Apple Inc.), “The Simpletones” (made up of professionals from CME Group, a lead sponsor) and solo artist Matt Scharpf (of Eurex) performed classic hits and original tracks that nearly raised the roof of Chicago’s City Winery.
Peak performances of the night came from “Chicago Rock Exchange” (made up of professionals from Apple Inc. and lead sponsor CME Group) with ACDC’s 1979 hit "Highway To Hell" and veteran “The Wrong Boys” (a lead sponsor CME Group based band) with the Beatles 1963 rendition of The Top Notes hit, “Twist and Shout”.
“We’d like to thank our event committee for all their efforts in executing the most successful Rocktoberfest events to date, as well as each of the amazing performers for putting on such an energetic show, and for being fantastic ambassadors of ALTSO’s work; their talent and generosity has a meaningful and direct impact on our mission,” says Gabriella Mueller, Executive Director of ALTSO. “And of course, we are especially grateful to our sponsors, without whom none of this work would be possible.” Rocktoberfest and Hedge Fund Rocktoberfest 2016 lead sponsors include Back In The Game Therapy, CGI, CME Group, Intercontinental Exchange and Société Générale.
If you were unable to make either event, please consider making a 100% tax-deductible donation to provide life-changing orthopedic care to children with limb disabilities in the developing world.
Special thanks to the following corporate sponsors:
Rocktoberfest Photo Credits: Marcy Cohen, Christina Lawrence, Joanne Morrison